This transcript was generated automatically and may contain small errors.
In order to do like extraordinary things, you need to be like extraordinary as well. It's usually just one of two problems. It's skill or attitude. Yeah, looking at the data and statistics is really important. Get out of your comfort zone and look at the actual data, look at what it's telling you.
Nerd alert! Property nerds, the home for data-driven property investors, where we uncover Australia's hot and cold markets, latest headlines and trends. Welcome everyone to the Property Nerds podcast. I'm your host Arjun Paliwal. Today is a very special episode because we've actually got one of our clients, Moses, who've flown in from Victoria to join us here in the studio.
And this story is exceptional. We'll be talking about a lot of cool things. Firstly, Moses is a property investor in his early 20s and he's been able to purchase multiple investment properties, which is a feat on its own, not just from the multiple, but also being in the 20s. But then there's so much to share just from his mindsets around money, his inspiration in terms of what's gotten him taking action, how he has grown a multi-property portfolio so young in life. So this conversation isn't just going to be one to celebrate an investor who's looking after their financial future, but this is going to be one to unpack so that others who are on the journey in their early 20s, or if you're a later age of life and you're just looking back to go, what are the things that the new generation is doing?
What are they hustling on? How are they pushing so hard? How are they doing things? How can I take away from that? And so I think this is an episode where you'll get a lot of value from it just to hear the other side from an investor so young in life, but so successful so early on.
And cheer someone on like that, but also learn whether you're in your 20s or you're not, this is going to be an episode to tune into. So Moses, my friend, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me on, Arjun, and flying me out here. It's a really special sort of thing to come down here and talk to you about property investing. Mate, thank you.
Thank you. It's the least we could do. We appreciate your support, mate, multiple times over. Trust my team and I. But Moses, I mentioned in the earlier intro a little bit about your investing journey in terms of what you've created so early in life.
I actually want to take it back because sure, we can talk about the outcomes, but someone's tuning into this itching going, I want to do that too. This dude's the man. He's inspiring. He's taken action for his financial future. He's sacrificing doing the harder things.
And that's a journey, right? So I want to take you back to when it all started. What was the first job for you, Moses? How old are you? What was the situation?
What were you getting up to? Yeah, so I finished my VCE year 12 back in COVID times, around 2021. And essentially a week after I finished my high school, I went straight into applying for jobs online, trying to look for anything that I could get into. And my first job was working at a butcher store. So I did that for a bit.
You're the coolest guy in the barbecue to hang out with then, hey? You know exactly how to cut it. Is the pressure on then when you're doing it? Yeah, yeah. Learned a lot of things.
Learned what they put in sausages, how to bone a leg of lamb. Wow. Learned a lot of social skills and things like that as well, customer service and that sort of stuff too. So really, really good space to sort of open myself up to the employment industry. Yeah.
And then, yeah, that was my first job. That's awesome, man. And then like when you go back to then, it's not very normal. As in what I mean by that is like people finish high school, but there's this almost like talk to your path. High school, uni, uni, travel, travel, maybe come back to uni and then masters.
And then like all of a sudden you're like, whoa, I'm in my late 20s now or mid 20s and life's only just getting started with work. And then, of course, there's the good old chicken or the egg. Work experience or studies? Studies or work experience? Like what did you do?
Which one's first? Now, I'm not saying occupations aren't out there that need that, but you took a left turn, many took a right. What do you think sparked you to go, hey, look, you guys go do this because many friends would have maybe been egging you on. What was that like back then? Yeah, so there was a few pathways that I saw a lot of my peers go down.
Some, they took a gap year, did a bit of traveling around Europe, spent their part-time job savings that they were working in high school, traveling around the world. Some got straight into university and some others sort of did a bit of both studying and uni. So I did uni a little bit later on. I did my registered nursing degree as well whilst also studying. But I wanted to save from the beginning, start earning money from the start, even if it was minimum wage, it was a step in the door.
So that's where it sort of all began. That's awesome. And did you have any systems back in the day that worked really well for you? Like give an example, there was a certain bank account you'd opened up and you wouldn't look at it or there was a certain percentage of money you put away or there was a certain thing that you did to help you build up that first deposit. What was it like for you if you go back to those earlier days?
And I wouldn't just say from the butcher's jobs or maybe you never spent on meat because you just took a few slabs home and you're like, oh, I don't need to spend on that. But I guess what was it like for you earlier on and through the journey, not just the first job, but through the journey when it came to money management? Yeah, so I remember opening up my first bank account to be employed and it was with my brother actually as well. And we opened up our complete freedom accounts and we had a bank card that was going to be arriving in the mail. And it was such a thrilling experience.
And I remember when we went into the bank branch, she was like, well, do you want to open up a savings account as well? So I was like, yeah, sure, why not? Let's have that separate account to have a savings there and earn a bit of interest on the money that I saved too. So that was my sort of first, you could say, investing sort of experience there where, yeah, I was always putting money into that account and watching it earn interest upon time. And was there any moments where like family influenced a lot of those habits or do you think you and your brother was like self-taught or self-self-taught?
Was it a lot of family influence on this journey of working early, saving hard? What was it like there? Yeah, well, I've been brought up in Italian sort of environment. So it's always, you know, the hardworking class people always living below your means or, you know, only spending money on things that you actually need, the essentials, the needs instead of the wants. So I do reckon that came and had a bit of influence on me.
But a lot of things as well was from online and social media that I saw as well. You know, everyone has a phone in their hand these days and it's a really powerful tool. People can use it to their advantage, but it can also distract people as well. So it's a really powerful tool. And I saw that as something where I can gain skills and knowledge into helping me achieve my goals and where I wanted to be in the future as well.
Do you have any good old Italian stories of a bit of savviness coming through? Maybe something you saw your parents doing like, oh, that's interesting. Didn't know we could bang a deal on that or do something here. Because I find like the one thing I love about the Italians, it's extremes, meaning they're either in the Ferraris rocking up, having an amazing time and like the best dressed people out in the world. And, you know, they got it down packed everything or they're the biggest hardworking saving.
Italians aren't in the middle, but you know, just one of you either side, right? They're just all either side. There's no like half done it for an Italian. That's full, right? So were there any stories that you had growing up or things that you can remember that made you just look at money differently because of the way you saw family do it?
Definitely. There was like times where our freezer would be like overflowed with like frozen meats and things like that. That was like nearby expiry date, but if you put it in the freezer, you can defrost it a little bit later. Smart, smart. So many like, yeah, food saving tips and things like that as well.
Cooking in big batches, all that sort of stuff. But yeah, it's an interesting way to live, but it also shows you discipline in life as well. It shows you that, you know, not everything you want, you can get. You know, people live very different lives. My grandma came from World War II as well.
So she came, her upbringing was quite difficult in Italy and she brought her six children all the way over to Australia. So that was my mum's side and then my dad's side is also part Italian too. So both my parents had very big families and money was tied on both sides as well. So And you can't learn everything as well. Things are learned on the way too.
You can learn from podcasts, people's experiences, that sort of stuff, but doing yourself is where you learn the most. So yeah, that's where I took action and I was like, I'm going into this. Now these two purchases, obviously that taking action was a big thing that you did two times over. You did it in 2025, so it's a solid buildup, but also the first allows you to get to the second, the savings and equity layer, you grow a portfolio. These aren't just two one to 200K, you know, small regional town units, which I'm not saying anyone, if you've got that, that should that be looked down upon, but it's more like you've bought two five to 600K properties, over a million dollars in assets now, early on.
Have you ever sat down and done the compounding math and just realized how much this could be, even if you did nothing else, cause you started so early? I have. It's pretty wild, isn't it? And yeah, it's very surreal and I want to continue with my property investment journey as well. So it's just going to, with time and things like that, it's just going to get quicker to help me move on to my next property, my next investment and continue going from there as well.
Yeah. Now these two properties, let's talk about them. So firstly, we have a property in Townsville, very fast growing area. And we also have a property in Albury, Wodonga, another fast growing area. For anyone out there listening and they're thinking, okay, taking action.
Well, these are not units. These are not townhouses. These are houses, right? They're on land. And so when you're thinking about housing, how often do you hear from people around you, especially in Melbourne and Sydney, two major cities, where they go, man, housing's so unaffordable.
It's impossible. It's not possible, but you've done it so early on in life. What do you think the missing ingredient is for them? Outside of obviously the mindset that you have and what you've done, but what do you think the missing ingredients for them is when they see it and say that way, half glass empty, and you see it as half glass full? What's the difference?
Yeah. Well, I feel like a lot of people, when they do say that sort of stuff, they're looking around their suburbs where they live. They're not sort of looking in suburbs where they don't know too well or where they haven't been brought up in or they don't have family members there. And I feel like, yeah, looking at the data and statistics is really important and not being so restricted in the suburbs around you, where you live, what you're familiar with. Get out of your comfort zone and look at the actual data, look at what it's telling you.
So that's, yeah. That's a big one, man. Like you're spot on. If you're going to be in your 20s, move out of home, you've done uni or you haven't done, you've got a job. And then even if you're at uni and you go to a prestigious uni in the inner parts of Sydney, and then on top of that, you don't want to live far from uni.
So you go to a prestigious suburb in the inner parts of Sydney. And even if you do that, you're likely living there by sharing accommodation with three or four others. So that doesn't feel fun because in the bad days when you're sharing accommodation, why is it so expensive? Why do I have to share this? Everything around you is millions of dollars, but also everything around you is the best of the best, right?
So you're experiencing the best cafes. Like, you know where that billionaire goes? He goes to that cafe where that student went, right? You know where that other multi-multi-millionaire went to for that walk on the beach? They went to the same place that that person with their first job as a barista maybe or starting their journey went to that beach.
So like we're experiencing like the world's best, but then naturally it does the opposite to you. Like mentally you go millions, that millions, that millions, like all these expensive. It's like, there's no way housing could ever be possible. But like you said, you're looking at that surround. You went borderless.
So that's another thing. So yes, you're right. He's a professional. That's helped you. But you could have found the professional that just went said, let's go to Melbourne.
Let's buy a unit. It's nice and cheap. It's nice and near your home. I'm a professional. Let me help you out.
But you went borderless. Talk me through this journey of going borderless and your comforts around that in terms of how you've slept at night, how you feel about it. Even today, you haven't even like, you know, how do you see those properties versus not seeing them? Like as in you're just sitting there a lot more comfortable with something that others might not be comfortable with. Talk me through your journey.
Exactly. So with the first purchase in Wodonga, it was about three hours away from where I lived. So it was for me, I felt less anxious about going with that property. But doing a lot of research and with the data and things like that, that you guys provided as well, really showed that Wodonga was a really good place to purchase that first property. So yeah, it was essentially going into regional Victoria was something that I was okay with, three hour drive.
When I went to purchase in Townsville. Did you do the Google Maps on that drive? How many podcasts can I smash out on this one? Exactly. But there was a lot more anxiety with that one.
But I had to remind myself that, look, there's a lot of data behind that area. Even if I don't know the area, there's a team behind me that can assist me and that sort of stuff. Rent sort of works a little bit different there compared to Victoria. Everyone's got their own sort of different ways in how rent is dealt with. But I just trusted the data and what the data shows.
A lot of people spend time collating that data and people have full-time jobs as well with that data. So yeah, it's just taking action. And there's obviously going to be a risk to everything. That's how I see it. There's always a risk to everything.
But to reduce that risk, yeah, you've got to look at data as well. Absolutely. It's a big piece, right? Now, when you look at these markets, they're both up over 10% to 15% each since when you purchased them, really moving strong. That's more than 100K in equity built already so early on.
Saving 100K is not easy in comparison to earning it whilst you just hold assets. Now, these particular assets, when you went through the journey of buying property, there was the word buyer's agent, which is often mistaken. It's almost like just the buying. We always like to call ourselves internally property advisory, right? What else did you see on the journey with us, with your strategist or your buyer's agent that wasn't just about buying property?
Because there's a few things that have gone on this journey that now also show you what your future looks like beyond just that. Could you talk about some of the other parts that you've experienced and now learned, not just about buying, but more about actually getting to your goals and strategy and research and checklist and settlement support or ongoing reviews? I'd love to know these other things that you're like, well, I didn't know that was all there, and now you're experiencing them and how they've helped you or how they're going to help you to building an actual portfolio. Yeah, definitely. So when I was looking at buyer's agents, I was sort of contemplating whether I should go with them or not.
What is a buyer's agent? Like, as you said, where they can help. A lot of buyer's agents just help you purchase the property. But what I saw with you guys was you actually look at the long term and you actually sit down with your clients one-on-one and explain, okay, what is your sort of game plan here? Where do you want to see yourself in 20, 30 years?
How many properties do you want to have? Is this a long-term goal or is this a sort of quick in, quick out, cash grab sort of thing? So when we sort of looked at, with the strategist sessions, we looked at sort of what my 40 years would be. Where could I retire with the money that I felt comfortable living off as well, just through property investing too, and how that can sort of look and project. So I know when I can borrow my next property, what sort of the forecast looks like for these two properties that I have as well.
And that's what really amazed me, that it's an ongoing sort of service sort of thing. It's not like, okay, we bought you the property, that's our hands, we've finished the service for you. It's an ongoing sort of thing. You guys really do care about, yeah, people's investment journey. And yeah, I can see it in everyone's faces and everyone's conversations and all those Zoom meetings and things like that.
You can really see that there's a real passion there and that you guys really do want to help as well. Mate, it gives me an absolute kick just hearing that because it's obviously the many of the team members that you're shouting out and stuff. So mate, thank you so much for your trust. And I guess I want to leave you with one more to two more questions. Number one is where to next?
And then number two is what message do you have out there for others in their 20s that are hearing you and going, wow, like that's special.
